Halfcaste
by random-chatterbox
Summary: Humans have destroyed the once great race of demons. Now they only exist as second-class citizens who form gangs to survive. Inuyasha grew up with no hope and no one giving him a chance. What happens when Kagomes does?
1. Introduction to my world

Half-Caste

Summary: Humans have destroyed the once grand race demons. The latest legislation gives them next to no individual rights. They have been reduced to forming gangs to survive. For a hanyou the situation is worse. Not accepted by either side and being prejudged a hanyou's life is a lonely one. Inuyasha grew up with no hope, no one giving him a chance; he thought there was only one path for him to follow. A love story of Kagome and Inuyasha in an overly prejudice world.

Chapter 1: Diary

Journal Entry: 07/06/04

Today I witnessed a fight at school. It was the human and demon gangs again. It's horrible. The new legislation has made everything that much worse. With demons having next to no rights all they can do is fight back. Even at school demons and humans are split up into different classes. Most humans would complain if their child were in a class with a demon. It's wrong. But I guess that nothing will change as long as this new government is in power. I feel so bad for all the demons, not all of them are the reckless killing machines described by the government. I bet if they were just given a chance they would prove to be valuable members of society.

Although the government claims the new legislation was passed to prevent demons from harming humans everyone knows the real reason for the legislation. The government's scared. Scared that demons could take over. I admit that holds some truth, but still its no way to treat someone. I've heard about countries with democracies where humans and demons are equal. I would give anything for Japan to be like that. However I know, as well as everyone else that it won't change. That's just how it is.

Anyway the fight at school was between two rival gangs. The demons fight because they feel as if they have to. The humans fight because they feel as if they are being threatened. If either side backed down I'm not sure what would happen. They are both to stubborn and filled with pride to ever take that step. Even now if new legislation was passed I'm not sure that humans will easily accept the transition. Humans have always been uneasy around demons. Ever since the war back in the feudal era where the humans had the numbers to take over Japan they have regarded demons as enemies. They thought that it was either us or them. What they fail to realize… or admit is that long before that demons possessed the power and numbers to take over Japan, but they didn't. The believed that we could both live in harmony as long as we stayed out of each other's way. Sometimes I wonder who I should be more scared of.

It pains me to see rival gangs out in the street shooting at one another. I just can't understand why they do it. Even rival demon gangs kill one another. They are just falling to the level that the government wants. It wants them to mess up, to show how vicious they are. They're falling right into their hands and don't realize it. Well that may be partly untrue, I think some of them do realize the damage they are doing, but feel a total sense of apathy towards the situation. I've heard rumors of underground organizations that are against the government. I'm sure they plan on using violence to solve the problem, but I'm not convinced that is always the best way. It might seem like the only way at the moment but how can you bring peace with violence and hatred? I just don't see the logic of it.

The way Japan is going right now I'm not sure how much longer we will last. We're in the middle of a war that is so close to the surface it could erupt any day now. Right now I'm just not sure how I should feel. Should I be scared for my life and the life of others or happy that I have first class citizenship? No I don't think I should be happy. But I'm not scared. Most demons are just mislead, they're not bad people. Killing is in their nature though, but so is honor. Oh I'm so confused. I just can't bring myself to hate them or think of them as an enemy. Everyone deserves a chance. Well in my eyes they do…

Kagome put down her pen and rested her head in her hands. Thinking and writing about the events taking place at the moment made her sad, but she couldn't stop. Especially when it was all around her. She rested back in her chair and closed her journal. That was enough for one day. She took her long ebony hair out of its ponytail and let it fall freely down her back. Taking a deep breath she tried to relax. Wriggling around in her chair for a comfortable position her attention was drawn to her window. She sat up straight and leaned forward for a better look. She saw her next-door neighbor of five years conversing with a few demons. She gazed at him wondering what he was like. She's only ever talked to him once before when he had first moved in. He threatened that if she ever came anywhere near him again he would rip out her tongue. After that she had never talked to him again, but sometimes watched him from her window or at school. He was an outcast, even more so than demons. He was expelled from even their society. That was the life of a hanyou.


	2. My future

Half-caste

My Future

Inuyasha noticed his next-door neighbor watching him from her window again. She did this a lot, just sat there watching him but she never uttered a word to him. Although that could have been because the last time she did he threatened to rip her tongue out.

" So Inu you up for the job?" Inuyasha swung his head around to be met by a dark icy stare. He remained silent not sure what to say. His silence caused the group of demons to start muttering. The leader hushed them all moving his dark eyes over to the girl at the window.

" Who's the bitch?"

Inuyasha shrugged with indifference, " I don't know. Just the bitch that lives next door."

The leaders glare hardened moving his gaze back to Inuyasha, " Why is she watching us half breed?"

Inuyasha's gaze remained stoic over the leader. Most full demons couldn't look Naraku in the eye without fear overwhelming them. Inuyasha however had nothing to loose, he faced everything with the same daring as if it was his last day to live. Sometimes he wished it were. " I don't know. She watches me sometimes."

Naraku snarled, " Does she know about our dealings? If you betray me hanyou it will be you life!"

" No she's always watched me."

Naraku's face twisted into a malicious sneer. " You have a human admirer do you?" The rest of the demons laughed callously.

" No she's just scared."

Naraku laughed bitterly, " No of course a human wouldn't like a worthless hanyou like yourself. No one wants a worthless half breed."

Inuyasha growled deep in his throat. He'd been told that for so long he didn't know why it still bothered him. His mother always told him not to listen to the mockings of the others. But how could he ignore something that was said so often? " Are we going to get down to business or just talk about little old me all day?"

Again Naraku replied with a scornful laugh, " Have it your way young hanyou. The job is easy. Just give them the stuff, get the money then get out of there."

" How much do I get for this?"

" 100 000 yen." Inuyasha remained silent for a moment. If they were offering him that sort of money then the goods must be worth a lot. A lot of people would be after him if they found out what he had, but then again danger was just part of the job. He agreed eventually concluding that he needed the money. His rent was five weeks overdue and if he didn't pay soon he'd be out on the streets. After nodding his agreement Naraku handed him a black duffel bag. " Take this to the old warehouse on Shikon Ave at 6pm today. Don't be late, our customers hate to be kept waiting."

" Keh I'll be there." Naraku nodded. Inuyasha was the best delivery boy there was. He was in and out without a suspicious look his way. The only problem with him was that the clients often questioned a hanyou. Naraku knew Inuyasha wouldn't betray him though. He had nothing else to go to, this was his only option. When Inuyasha was just thirteen Naraku recruited him to work as a delivery boy. He was cheaper then most people and did the job twice as well. The job had given Inuyasha enough money to rent a house and buy food. If he wanted to maintain this he had to keep doing jobs for Naraku.

Naraku moved his gaze away from Inuyasha and back to the other demons. With the parting words of, "Don't' fail me Inuyasha," he left.

" I never do"

Inuyasha looked back over to the window to see the girl still watching him. He wondered why she did it. Was it because she was scared or frightened of him or was there some other reason? She didn't look frightened, she showed an emotion he didn't recognize. He growled to himself wondering why he was even thinking about this. He slung the duffel bag over his shoulder and walked back into his house. Slamming the door he kicked a few beer bottles away, some smashing as they hit the wall. He checked the clock at the top of the fridge. It was 1pm, which meant he still had four and a half hours until he had to go do the job.

He dumped the duffel bag on his lumpy couch, which also doubled as his bed. Going to the fridge he started to dig through it for something edible. All he could find was a six-pack of beer, some left over ramen and what looked like cheese. He picked it up with his claws and sniffed it carefully. He immediately held it at arms length and walked it to the bin. He silently wondered how long cheese would have to be left in a fridge before it turned into a green furry hairball. After disposing of it he went back to the fridge and grabbed a beer and the half eaten ramen. He moved the duffel bag to the opposite side of the couch and sat down. Flicking on the TV he slouched back into the couch with his ramen resting on his stomach, his beer in his left hand and the remote in his right. Taking leisurely sips he watched some news reports. Most were on the legislation and the war bubbling under the surface of Japan. It was all bullshit to him. The government had control over all media so of course nothing on TV would go against them. He flicked through numerous channels before deciding to watch a sitcom. Eating the cold ramen and sipping on his beer Inuyasha drifted off into a sound sleep.

" I believe the latest legislation has been proven extremely successful as the number of crimes has decreased dramatically. The number of demons as well as humans retained in police custody has also been reduced by 3 since the start of this act."

"Bullshit…" murmured Inuyasha in his sleep. He rolled over lazily but hit feet hit something. He grabbed the bag idly saying, " What the fuck." Suddenly realization hit him as he drowsiness left him immediately. " Shit!" he cussed getting up and grabbing the bag. He looked to the clock. Five minutes till he was meant to make the delivery.

" Shit, I'll never make it," he grumbled running out of his house and bounding down the street. He pumped his legs as hard as he could, using all of his muscles to their peak. The factory was at least fifteen minutes away. So at the least he would be ten minutes late. He swore loudly at his bad fortune. If he was late Naraku was likely to kill him in cold blood, or worse let him live without any money. This motivation made Inuyasha push himself more. He was fast, but he wasn't fast enough to get there in time.

He arrived at the building five minutes late. He didn't stop cursing the whole way there. Walking into the deserted building he looked around for the client. One light lit the center of the room but other than that it was surrounded by darkness. He didn't need to eyes to see though. He could still smell a strong scent so it was likely that they were still here. Inuyasha walked to the middle of the deserted room gripping the duffel bag tightly.

" Your late," came a deep voice from the darkness surrounding Inuyasha. Inuyasha bowed humbly in an apology.

" I had something to take care of." The voice was quite for a second. Suddenly another voice sounded.

" Have you got the goods?" Inuyasha was on high alert. There was more than one person here and from what he could tell they were wolf demons. They travel in packs so this lead Inuyasha to assume that there were at least six demons here.

" Yeah, but I need the money first," he replied boldly. Laughter surrounded him. Inuyasha's ears continually twitched with the noise. Out from the shadows came a young female wolf demon. She wore all black with her red hair tied back in a tight ponytail. Her green eyes were flashing dangerously.

" You're a bold one aren't you?" Inuyasha didn't answer. " What? Don't you want to play doggy?" Inuyasha growled deep in his throat.

A deep voice broke off her taunts." Ayame, just get it over with." The girl looked into the shadows and nodded. She held out her own duffle bag. Inuyasha looked at it but didn't make a move to take it.

The girl sighed, " Fine have a look then." She unzipped it to reveal numerous bundles of notes. " Now your turn hanyou." Inuyasha unzipped his own bag and showed it to the girl. " Good." She zipped her bag up and threw it to Inuyasha. He did the same with his own. " Great doing business with you." With that she left back into the darkness. Inuyasha heard rustling as they all went to leave. Inuyasha took this as his queue to leave as well. Tucking the bag under his arm he left the building and started to walk casually down the street.

He'd made it a block before he started to hear footsteps behind him. They were right behind him matching his pace. He didn't like that at all. He tried to speed up but so did they. By the sound of it there were five of them, medium build, probably male. They were definitely demon although he couldn't tell what sort.

Suddenly one yelled out to him. He stopped and looked around quickly for an escape but he couldn't see one. Once they were right behind him Inuyasha decided to just take them head on. He'd been in fights against more than ten humans before and still come out the victor. Then again he couldn't exactly compare that to five fully-grown youkai.

Deciding to take a chance Inuyasha quickly spun around punching one in the face. He went flying to the ground but before Inuyasha had a chance to celebrate one of the other ones had tackled him to the ground. Inuyasha snarled looking up at the cat demon sitting on his chest. Inuyasha saw him retract his fist and was immediately alert. He quickly moved his head to the side and retaliated by punching the demon off him. He got up quickly in a fighting stance. "Oh shit." He looked around to see an assortment of demons sneering at him. Suddenly Inuyasha felt his knees buckle as the cat demon pulled him to the floor by his legs. Sharp nails spawned out of the tips of the youkai's fingers. Inuyasha quickly dodged backwards to avoid being sliced. The cat demon just kept coming for him until he was backed against an alley wall. Inuyasha looked up the wall to see a windowsill just above his head. Just as the youkai attacked Inuyasha grabbed hold of this and flung himself upwards. He landed on the other side of the cat and swiftly kicked him into the wall. The youkai fell down unconscious.

Inuyasha looked back at the rest of the youkai. " Who wants to take me on next?!" he yelled defiantly. An Inu youkai stepped forward. Inuyasha watched him distastefully, " Fine." Inuyasha made the first move throwing a punch at him. He easily dodged but this didn't stop Inuyasha. He made another swipe at him but this time when the Inu youkai dodged but also returned the gesture. Inuyasha went flying back into the cement ground. He rubbed his head painfully. Abruptly two youkai held him down as the Inu youkai grabbed the duffel bag. Inuyasha struggled vainly against them. If he lost Naraku's money he was sure to pay big time.

The Inu youkai started to walk away while the two youkai still held Inuyasha down. Inuyasha started to yell after him, calling him malicious names. As he got smaller and smaller Inuyasha felt a burst of energy as he threw one of the youkai that was holding him to the side of the alley. Quickly the other punched Inuyasha hard. He could see little white dots starting to blur his vision. He felt the weigh of the youkai leave his arm. " This is your future half breed." As unconsciousness took over Inuyasha he saw a white blur pass his vision. In the end he found that he had to agree with the youkai. This was his future.


	3. They

Half-caste

'They'

" Kagome honey, it's time to get up." Kagome stirred in bed as she heard her mothers voice drift down the hallway. She grumbled rolling over closer to the edge of her bed. Slowly she moved off the bed and stretched. She scuffed her feet on the floorboards as she walk down the hall towards the kitchen.

" Good morning Ma," she yawned. Mrs. Higurashi smiled kindly kissing her daughter on her forehead and placed a plate of food in front of her. Kagome was halfway through her breakfast when Souta came out of his room and grabbed the rest of her toast. He ate it greedily and smacked his lips when he was done. Mrs. Higurashi scolded him for taking Kagomes food but Kagome brushed it off saying she was full already. She took her plate back to sink and then left for her room.

Every morning was like this. It was a routine, one that the Higurashi family stuck to. " Be gone evil spirits!" Right on queue grandpa would come out with a bunch of ofas and try to cleanse the place for demons. A routine wasn't a bad thing, it kept everything organized and left no room for mistakes.

After Kagome had gotten ready for school she left the house with Souta lagging slightly behind her. He would yell out for her to wait up and she would tell him to walk faster. Today however, the routine failed her. As she walked out of her house an unusual sight caught her eye. There at the back of the shrine near the Gonshi tree was a white haired boy. She recognized him immediately as her next-door neighbor. Yelling back at Souta to stay inside she ran to the tree. _'What is he doing here?'_ she wondered as she gazed upon his motionless figure. She could tell he was still alive because his chest rose with each breath. Though it was ragged and quick, like he was running. She watched him for a while before actually daring to try and wake him up. Carefully she leant down and gently shook him. He didn't seem to stir in the least. She leaned closer and tried again. He wasn't responding to her touch at all. She turned her gaze to his face. She gasped as she saw a deep blue bruise on his upper right cheek. She touched it delicately. He flinched slightly but still didn't wake. She got up and ran back to the house.

" Ma do we have an ice pack?"

" Yah honey, it's in the freezer," said her mother while chasing Grandpa through the house trying to get Buyo back. He claimed that the cat had been in contact with a demon and needed to be cleansed. Kagome went to the freezer and filtered through the contents until she found the ice pack. Grabbing it she started to run for the door but Souta stood in her way.

" Why do you want me to stay in here?" he asked suspiciously.

" Well because there is an unconscious hanyou at the Gonshi tree." Kagome pushed past her stunned brother and ran back to where Inuyasha lay. She knelt down again and gently placed the ice pack on his cheek. She was amazed when he didn't wake up. She was sure the cold would have woken anyone else up. Like on TV when they want someone to wake up they tip cold water on them. Well apparently it didn't work for this boy. She placed her bum on the floor so that she was comfortable as she sat next to him. She watched him curiously as he made yelping noises. She assumed he was having a bad dream. Whenever she had a bad dream her mother would stroke her head to comfort her. She decided to do the same, but then she noticed his ears. They were so cute, like white fluffy triangles. Her hand moved to them as she stroked them lightly. Inuyasha seemed to calm down a bit after that so she continued the action. She stayed like this for at least five minutes before Souta popped his head out the front door and yelled,

" Kagome we're going to be late!" Kagome groaned as she realized he was right.

She yelled back, " Okay I'll just be a minute!" Suddenly Inuyasha's eyes opened and his hand streaked out and grabbed Kagome's arm. She gasped and tried to free her arm. He gripped it tighter, painfully. His golden eyes where fully alert staring at her sharply. " Let go, your hurting me," she cried.

" I know you," he said quietly. He looked around at his surroundings and quickly let her go. She pulled her arm back and began to rub it. He also became aware of the cold that was pressed against his cheek. He quickly reached up and grabbed the ice pack. He got up quickly and threw the ice pack at Kagome. He turned and started to head back to his house. What had happened? He remembered last night, he had that delivery to do. He got the money from that female wolf youkai. Then some demons had beaten the shit out of him and took the money. But then what? How had he ended up here? What was this girl doing to him?

Kagomes voice broke through his thoughts. " Hey you're hurt, you should keep this." She threw him the ice pack. He caught it was a swift movement.

" Keh, I don't need any help bitch." He threw it back to her. She caught it but not as gracefully as he had managed. She watched him as he walked back to his house and slammed the door after him.

" Kagome! Come on if I'm late I'll get detention!" Kagome looked back to Souta and nodded. She quickly picked herself off the ground and ran to his side. She held out her hand for him to take. " Kagome I'm not a baby. I don't need to hold your hand."

" Oh right," she murmured retracting her hand and started to power walk down the path. Souta was close behind her. First she had to take him to school then she had to somehow get to the other side of the district to her school all before the siren went. It was entirely possible for Souta to make it, but she wasn't sure about herself. She sped up slightly pushing through numerous people trying to get to school and work themselves. Every few moments she would look back to check if Souta was still behind her. A couple of times a few red lights slowed her down but she ended up getting Souta to school on time. She ruffled his hair and started off to her own school.

Now the trouble began. Her school was at least fifteen minutes walking distance and school started in around ten minutes. She sighed as she started to run, although physical endurance was not one of her strong points. The traffic lights seemed to be against her. Every time she got to one it turned red, but there seemed to be no traffic around what so ever. However as she was a good law abiding citizen she still didn't cross the trafficless street until the little green man flashed. She was about half way there when she started to get a stitch. She grumbled at her own lack of fitness. _'I knew I should have done sport in school.' _She slowed down her pace to a brisk walk. Even then the stitch caused her pain. To make matters worse a car slowed down next to her with the driver yelling, " Hey show us ya tits!"

Kagomes patience had reached its peak. She turned on the strange car and yelled, " YOU PERVERT!!!" The driver poked his head out the window with a wide cheeky grin that Kagome recognized immediately.

" Kagome, you have no idea how many times a girls have called me a pervert today. You could have at least tried to be original."

Kagome burst out into a full-fledged smile. " Miroku you idiot!" she scolded while laughing.

He teasingly pouted, " Fine if you want to be like that I won't give you a ride."

" Did I say idiot? What I meant to say was sexy genius." Miroku's smile widened as he leant over and opened the door for her to get in. Once inside she did up her seatbelt and placed her school bag on the car floor.

They got to school with plenty of time to spare. " Thanks a lot Miroku. You really saved my bum."

" Hey what are friends for if not to pick each other up on the side of the road and drive them to school?" She laughed, " I don't know Miroku, I really don't know." She looked over to her long time friend and hugged him tightly. He wasn't one to argue as he hugged her back, but his hands did hover dangerously close to her ass. " You better not have your hands anywhere near my bum Miroku," Kagome warned.

" No of course not Kagome." He raised his hands to the center of her back. She was the only girl to which he tried really hard not to touch. They'd been friends since lower school and he really cherished their friendship. He didn't want to strain it with his bad habit. As Kagome leaned back Miroku asked, " So what was that hug for?"

She shrugged, she wasn't the sort of person that went around hugging everyone like some of the other girls at her school who just wanted physical contact. " I just wanted to hug you is all."

" I can handle that. As long as you're not coming onto me or anything." He laughed scratching his head. Suddenly he saw a flash of white come towards Kagome. " Watch out!" he yelled, but was to late as Kagome went crashing to the ground.

"Oww," she moaned rubbing her sore bum. She looked down into familiar golden eyes. Then she realized she was sitting on top of him. Quickly she scrambled off him and blurted out, " Sorry." Inuyasha quickly got off the ground and shrugged off her apology. Then started off running again. Kagome stared at his back in shock. " What was that?" she said to no one in particular.

" Hey Kagome," Miroku offered out his hand to pull her up. She accepted and was on her feet in no time. " Geez he was rude don't you reckon?" Kagome didn't answer so Miroku just continued. " You said sorry for his mistake. Then he runs off without even apologizing to you."

" He was in a hurry, I guess he didn't have time to say sorry."

" Don't defend him Kagome, just because he's a hanyou. I know how you feel about the legislation but you can't defend them against everything, especially if they knew what they were doing."

" Excuse me? They? Look I don't defend demons or hanyous because of what they are. I defend everyone, it's in my nature." She continued to walk until she turned around thinking of an example, "Like when I first met you. I defended you against those girls claiming you were sexually harassing them. Too bad they were right."

Miroku laughed agreeing." Yeah, you're too nice Kagome. But still I think you should be more careful around demons and such. Your too trusting." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

" Yes big brother," she said sarcastically taking hold of his hand that was draped on her shoulder.

" I just don't want to see anything bad happen to you okay?" Kagome nodded and smiled.

" Don't worry Miroku. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself." Miroku had to agree with that. She had broken many hearts and noses while at this school. Any guys who got to close, and that weren't Miroku got a punch in the face. Overall she was a pacifist but need be she could take care of herself.

Kagome entered her busy English room and took a seat at her usual desk. There Hojo was waiting for her. She smiled politely and waved.

" Hi Higurashi, how are you today?" Hojo was really sweet, he would always ask how she was and be a perfect gentleman. Sometimes when she was sick he would bring her some medicine and her books. All in all he was a really nice guy.

" I'm fine Hojo, how about you?" But they always met with this nice pleasant talk. Like when you first meet a person you have to be nice and don't voice your feelings and opinions as much as you would with a close friend. Kagome called this the 'pleasant stage'. She'd never gotten past this stage with Hojo. She just didn't think he was a person she could get close to. He did try though, and you can't blame a boy for trying.

" I'm good. Did you finish your essay?"

" Yah, it was a bit sketchy though. I don't really understand how Romeo and Juliet could be in love at their age." The conversation went on like this for a while before the class was silenced and told to sit down. Once Kagome sat down she put her essay at the front of her desk to be collected. She started to daydream when something outside caught her attention.

It was Inuyasha again. She would recognize his platinum tresses anywhere. Sitting up in her seat she watched as he spoke to three demons. She recognized one to be Naraku. Everyone knew him, if not by his scary exterior then by his reputation. He was the leader of the most prominent demon gang in the school. He was said to be the most dangerous demon at the school, even the other demons where scared of him. As Kagome watched Inuyasha exchanged words with him she noticed his didn't seem frightened at all. His face remained stoic as he met Naraku eye to eye. Their conversation seemed to get more serious as Inuyasha started to yell and ball his fists. Suddenly one of the other two demons came at him swiftly. Kagome watched as Inuyasha went tumbling to the ground. She stood up quickly gasping. Everyone in her class turned to look at her.

She pointed to Inuyasha lying still on the ground. " Someone has to help him!" she yelled. Their attention was draw to Inuyasha and the demons surrounding him. One of the girls scoffed.

" He's a demon, why should we help him?" she spat the word demon as if poison on her tongue.

Kagome glared her anger boiling, " So! He's human too! We can't just sit here and do nothing! They'll kill him!"

Another student, this time a boy spoke up, " He's one of them, let his own kind take care of him!"

" WHAT!? 'Them', who the heck is 'them'?" Kagomes face was red with anger her words burning.

The teacher came down to Kagome and tried to calm her down. " Kagome you know what the students mean. Demons they… cause trouble. It's better if we leave them be."

Kagome blanched. " I can't believe I'm hearing this," she whispered, her anger lingering under the surface. She balled her fists causing her knuckles to become white. " You can't do that! You can't group them all together and say they're all the same. It's just stupid!"

The teacher gave her a sympathetic look. " Look I'm sorry Kagome but there is nothing we can do about it. It's best if you just try and ignore what's happening outside." Clearing his voice he spoke loudly to the whole class. " Alright the drama's over back to work." Slowly the students began to take their seats until Kagome was the last one standing. She didn't dare take her eyes off the window. She watched as the two unknown demons kicked Inuyasha while he was lying on the ground. Kagome couldn't help a single tear as it ran down her cheek. She couldn't bear watching people suffer.

" Kagome?"

Suddenly Inuyasha jumped up. He sucker punched one of the demons in the jaw and grabbed the other one hurling him into a tree. Naraku stood watching the whole thing not moving a muscle.

" Kagome?"

While the other two demons were slightly out of it Inuyasha took his chance and started to run. It wasn't exactly the bravest thing to do but it was the smartest. Kagome could tell by the look on his face that he hated leaving a fight unfinished.

" Kagome!" The image from the window was suddenly blocked. Kagome jumped as her teacher slammed down the curtain. " Are you going to sit down Miss. Higurashi?"

Slowly she replied, " Yes sensei."


	4. hope and charity

Half-caste

Hope and Charity

All the way home Kagome couldn't help but think of Inuyasha. He looked like he had taken a beating from those demons. He didn't deserve that, no one did. She threw her shoes off and relaxed onto her bed. How could they be so heartless? No matter what he did he shouldn't be punished like that. Kagome felt her bed tilt with the weight of a new arrival. Buyo purred as it rubbed up against Kagomes feet. She laughed when his whiskers tickled her feet. Sitting up she grabbed the cat and put it on her lap. Stroking it gently she started to talk about her problems.

" Buyo what should I do? I want to help him, but he's so surly and rough that I don't think he'll let me." Buyo yawned and rested his head on Kagomes knee. She smiled down at the cat scratching behind his ear. " How do I get him to trust me? Maybe if I just talked to him… but then again last time I did it didn't go so well. Oh Buyo, what would you do?" The cat looked up to her with an oblivious stare and a loud 'meow'. Kagome scrunched her nose, " Well your no help." Buyo got up and stretched. He jumped off her bed and waddled away with a tickle of his bell. Kagome flopped back on her bed. " Argh why does this have to be so hard?" She'd never before had any problems with talking to people. She was quite a sociable person and was well liked. But this boy, he was proving to be a real problem. She needed a plan, a plan to talk to him without him ripping her tongue out. She gulped at the thought.

Her thoughts were disrupted though as Buyo gave a loud meow. She sighed getting off her bed and shuffling towards the kitchen. There Buyo stood meowing loudly looking expectantly at his empty cat bowl. Kagome laughed at the cat's expectancy for food. She often thought that this was the reason for the cat's liking towards her. She would be the one to give it extra treats here and there. Her poor mother always wondered why Buyo was so big.

Kagome opened the pantry and grabbed some fish snacks. Buyo's sensitive ears twitched at the sound of the bottle rattling. Automatically he started to meow clawing at the cupboard. " Alright, alright I'm coming." She swiftly picked up his empty cat bowl and half filled it with kitty snacks. Buyo purred loudly and rubbed against her leg. Kagome rolled her eyes, "Geez I should have guessed the way to a cats heart would be through its stomach" She paused for a second, the clogs in her head starting to turn. " Hmm I wonder if it would be the same for dogs?"

Quickly she ran back to her room and grabbed a coat. Then she went back to the kitchen and started to go through the fridge. Pocking her head around the corner she yelled to her mum, " Ma, I'm going to take the rest of this roast next-door okay?"

Seconds later came her mothers reply from somewhere else in the house. " Sure that's fine, just be back before six." Kagome looked down at her watch. It was only four so that gave her plenty of time.

" Okay ma, bye."

" Bye honey." Kagome carefully took the roast out of the fridge and balanced it in her right hand while closing the fridge door with her left. Then she had to do the same for the front door. Walking briskly down the path and around the fence she made her way to Inuyasha's front door.

When getting there she paused to examine the house. As far as she knew it was nearly as old as the shrine. Grandpa once told her that it used to be a part of the village the shrine used to overlook. The only building left like it. She had to admit that it did look pretty old. The paint was pealing all over it giving it a shabby appearance. She looked closely at the door and saw what numerous dents and what to her looked like bullet holes.

If they were in fact bullet holes it wouldn't have surprised her. People seemed to refuse Inuyasha's existence. People would pick fights with him for no apparent reason other than for what he was. It wasn't his fault, he didn't choose be born a hanyou. Fate just had another plan for him.

Kagome took a deep breath and tried to push down her nerves. She knocked crisply at his door. She heard clattering noises coming from inside but the door didn't open. She tried again this time knocking a bit harder. Halfway through a knock the door swung open to reveal a disgruntled looking hanyou.

" What?" he barked at her through the fly wire door. Kagome froze, her heart starting to beat wildly in her chest and her nerves rising. " Well?" he snapped.

Kagome jumped, surprised at the sudden noise. She wasn't sure how she should talk to him, everything that she had planned to say had fallen into the black hole of her memory. She looked down at the meat in her hands and brain started to work overdrive. Quickly she spluttered, " I brought you some left over roast, I mean because we aren't going to eat and I don't want it going to waste." She held it out in offering. When he didn't move she started to think she had offended him so quickly added, " Umm that is if you want it." Inuyasha could smell the meat and feel his stomach rumble. His better judgment was telling him to slam the door in her face but his stomach was saying the opposite. Inuyasha opened the fly wire door cautiously incase it was a trap set by Naraku. He had to admit it was suspicious. His next-door neighbor all of a sudden comes to his house offering food when in the previous five years she hadn't said a word to him. Well minus when he first came. He quickly stepped out from behind the screen door so he could grab the meat. By doing so it gave Kagome a chance to see him clearly. She was shocked to see the bruise on his cheek had disappeared. Before he could grab the meat Kagome pointed to his cheek. " Where did your bruise go?' Inuyasha growled again taking a step back from her. " I heal fast, now hand over the meat." Kagome looked down at her hands with an 'oh' and handed over the roast. He grabbed it and looked at her expectantly. She just stared back at him.

Inuyasha turned his head away. " I'm not a fucking freak show. Don't' stare at me like that."

Kagome gasped. " What, no, I didn't…"

" Keh," Inuyasha interrupted. " What you think I'm stupid or something, you think I don't see you staring at me all the time."

Kagome blushed dropping her head. " I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was doing that," she said quietly, almost a whisper.

Inuyasha glared at her. " Whatever. Did you want something else?"

Kagome looked up at him again. " Actually yeah. I saw that fight today, it was outside my English room. I was wondering if you were alright."

Inuyasha looked at her suspiciously, " Why the hell do you care?" She gave him that look again. The one he couldn't identify. Suddenly it hit him. He knew that emotion. He growled deeply and menacingly. " You pity me, don't you little girl?"

Kagome lowered her head, " I.."

Inuyasha glowered, bearing his teeth. " I don't want your sympathy!" He thrust the roast back into her hands. " And I don't need your charity bitch."

Kagome looked down at the meat and back up to him. He was angry, that was obvious. His eyes were burning with rage and spite. " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just wanted to help."

Inuyasha's eyes flashed dangerously, " I don't need your or anybody else's help!" He turned to leave but changed his mind. He turned around the anger and hate in his eyes smothered somewhat and said, " Look, I'm a lost cause. You'd be wasting your time." He didn't look at her as he said it. " Besides didn't I tell you that if you ever talked to me again I'd rip your tongue out?"

Kagome stood speechless. Inuyasha watched her blank expression and scoffed, " You're from a different world wench. You better get back to it before people start to worry." He turned again and went back into his house, slamming the door in his wake. Kagome stood there for a few moments before turning and heading back to her house.

As soon as she got home she put the roast back into the fridge and went to her room to sit down at her desk. She opened her journal and started to jot down her thoughts.

Journal entry: 08/06/04

_Today something weird happened. When I went to school today Inuyasha had been lying in our back yard. He looked like he was hurt so I tried to help him. When he woke up he was angry. I don't think he likes people helping him. He seems so distant and surly. I just went to his house to see if he was all right. He was in a fight today, just outside my English room. I asked people to help him but they just laughed at me. I can't believe it, how can people be so heartless. Even my teacher told me to leave him to his demise. Luckily he got away. I would hate to think what would happen to him if he hadn't. I wonder what he did to get such a punishment. Then again he probably did nothing. In the past five years numerous people have come by some yelling, some shooting. For them he represents something unnatural, something that wasn't meant to happen. They hate him for what he is. It isn't fair._

_Just then when I went over his house he told me he was a lost cause and that I would be wasting my time on him. How could anyone think like that? Well I'm going to help him, no matter what he says. I know there's hope for him, even if he doesn't see it._


End file.
